Support My Genea-Fiction!

During the month of November, I had a Kickstarter campaign running to fund the production of the first novel in the series featuring Aila Rudzīte. While some funds were pledged through Kickstarter, the amount was not enough to meet the goal, however the support was there – a number of people contacted me to donate privately, due to various reasons, including having errors on the Kickstarter website, wariness of using the Internet for financial transactions, or unfamiliarity with new websites and decided to stick to methods that they knew. Those contributions brought me over the funding goal.

In addition, some people were also not aware that the Kickstarter campaign was a limited-time campaign – only 30 days long. While this is supposed to build a “sense of urgency”, in Kickstarter’s words, that also means that people who don’t have the opportunity to provide support in that time period – either due to a lack of immediate funds, lack of time or some other reason – are left out from participating.

So as a result, I’ve decided to forgo time limits and third parties, and have cancelled the Kickstarter campaign. But that doesn’t mean the project is canceled! On the contrary – the project will continue, but privately, here, on my website. All of the same rewards as promised on Kickstarter (listed below) will continue to apply. Go here to read about this project in more detail.

What does this mean if I’ve already contributed to the Kickstarter campaign?

When the project was canceled, the funds were returned to you, so you have not been charged. If you wish to contribute to the project privately – and I hope you do – then follow the instructions below to do so and select your reward level. I apologize that you need to go through the pledge process again, but Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing system, meaning that since the full amount was not raised on the Kickstarter website, they do not send the pledges that were raised.

What about accountability? Doesn’t Kickstarter help with that?

Not really, no. Kickstarter provides a platform, but they do not enforce accountability in deliverables at all. My private website provides just as much information about me as Kickstarter does, and is more intimately tied in with my professional life as a genealogist and genealogy blogger. If something isn’t done as promised, the genealogy community will certainly hold me accountable for it! The professional reputation that I’ve spent years building is at stake, so deliverables will certainly be delivered.

So how do I contribute?

Look at the pledge levels below and choose which one best reflects the rewards you wish to receive (Note: The Kickstarter campaign had charges for international shipping – I’ve removed them here, so shipping everywhere is free). When you’ve done that, you can send money via Paypal to admin@celmina.com and in the payment comments, mention your chosen reward level, as well as an email address that I can contact you at for more details as needed.

$5 LEVEL
BRONZE SUBSCRIBER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet and early access to special features!
Estimated delivery: Mar 2014

$10 LEVEL
SILVER SUBSCRIBER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features and a story-themed bookmark!
Estimated delivery: Mar 2014

$15 LEVEL
GOLD SUBSCRIBER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark and an e-book copy of the novel!
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$25 LEVEL
BRONZE SUPPORTER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel and a set of 3 stickers OR temporary tattoos that correspond to Aila’s tattoos! (see below for more details)
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$35 LEVEL
SILVER SUPPORTER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark and a SIGNED paperback copy of the novel!
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$50 LEVEL
GOLD SUPPORTER – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel, set of 3 stickers OR temporary tattoos that correspond to Aila’s tattoos (see below for more details) and a SIGNED paperback copy of the novel!
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$75 LEVEL #1
BRONZE PRODUCER (ART OPTION) *LIMITED* – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel, SIGNED paperback copy of the novel and a PERSONALIZED hand-painted art card! (see below for more details)
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$75 LEVEL #2
BRONZE PRODUCER (JEWELERY OPTION) *LIMITED* – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel, SIGNED paperback copy of the novel and a wirework necklace like Aila wears! (not available to all countries, see below for more details)
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$150 LEVEL
SILVER PRODUCER *LIMITED* – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel, SIGNED paperback copy of the novel and you get to NAME a minor character! (see description for more details)
Estimated delivery: May 2014

$200 LEVEL
GOLD PRODUCER *LIMITED* – A big thank you on the “Backers” page of the website, a personalized thank-you Tweet, early access to special features, a story-themed bookmark, e-book copy of the novel, SIGNED paperback copy of the novel and a personalized interactive 9×12″ painting! (see below for more details)
Estimated delivery: May 2014

Further Details

STICKERS/TEMPORARY TATTOOS: Aila has three tattoos. A reward tier with stickers or temporary tattoos means that you will get one of each of them (with the exception of the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER level, where you will receive three stickers and three temporary tattoos). When asked, you will need to say whether you want the stickers or temporary tattoos.

Aila’s tattoos are:

“Ultreia” is a pilgrim saying from the Camino de Santiago. It means “onward!” and “you can do it!”. Aila has this tattoo on her right wrist.

The traditional Latvian Sun pattern, which Aila has on her left shoulderblade.The traditional Latvian Sun pattern, which Aila has on her left shoulderblade.

The coordinates of Aila’s grandparents’ birthplaces. She has this tattoo on her left upper arm. When choosing this reward, you will need to provide four sets of coordinates that are important to you.The coordinates of Aila’s grandparents’ birthplaces. She has this tattoo on her left upper arm. When choosing this reward, you will need to provide four sets of coordinates that are important to you.

PERSONALIZED ART CARDS: Art cards are small pieces of artwork, 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches in size. This particular art card will be personalized for you with a surname of your choice on a background that reflects its meaning. You will need to provide the surname, its meaning and whether you want the artwork to be realistic or abstract in style. You also have the choice of the art being in acrylic paint or pencil crayon. If you do not know the meaning of the surname you want, then provide an idea of what you would like as the background – nature, buildings, etc.

JEWELERY: This wirework jewelery has been created exclusively for this project by my crafting friend Jacqueline. It is a stylistic rendering of the Latvian symbol Auseklis (Morning Star). It is made of wire, black painted wooden beads and on a black leather cord.

Some countries do not allow jewelery to be mailed to recipients in their country. While this probably is meant to refer to expensive jewelery made from precious metals and gems, I don’t want to risk a reward not getting to a backer, so before you choose the jewelery option, please look here to see if your country accepts jewelery in the mail.

INTERACTIVE 9×12 PAINTING: This is a really special project! It combines the surname aspect of the art cards above with a larger canvas and moveable parts. Yes, I said moveable parts. You can change parts of the artwork to suit your mood, whenever you want to do so. When you order this reward, you will need to provide details of the type of artwork you like: Realistic, Abstract, the type of scenery, what colours you would like, what you do NOT want to see, medium, and so on. It will be something special just for you.

NAMING A MINOR CHARACTER: Exactly what it says on the tin. You get to name a minor character. Your character will be added in a ethnicity-appropriate setting of the story, either in the past or in the present timeline. The character will have several lines, but is unlikely to appear in more than one scene of the story. Nothing offensive or explicit will be accepted.